24 August 2009

Events in Manly are announced via a BIG CO2 footprint. At the beach front/Corso plastic banners are hung into the pines to announce an event. The banners and plastic strings weighing a few grams are being put up and taken down with a maximum of petrol usage and noise pollution.

Also a huge section of the public pedestrian space is taken up by parking a suv, a trailer and a crane in it. With the machinery running, the worker extracts the bit of plastic.

The 'green family fun' event at Manly Lagoon also degraded the sound scape for the waterbirds/wildlife and adjoining residents. Amplified noise or anthropogenic noise pollution are not beneficial for wildlife. A high impact event.

19 August 2009

The dead tree media is dying. Yes, they are still being delivered daily to many doorsteps via petrol in sub-urbia. Lovingly wrapped in plastic, thrown on the manicured lawn at 6 am. In cafes they still get into THE paper rage to do the crosswords first. On Saturday, fight over the glossy sections to be in the know what the latest 'must have' should be. Sometimes the paper is just blowing about on Manly Beach.

But now YOU can support the struggling industry. There are also many more examples how you can use the paper: When retreating from the coast, pack all your stuff in it. Start the next BBQ with it or just do clean up that dog§*+" from the walkway.

15 August 2009

There are attempts to grab some of the public pedestrian space by private enterprise on Manly Wharf.The wharf is in the middle of Manly Cove, which is framed by green National parks with the odd whale or dolphins visiting Sydney Harbour. It is also the gateway for people arriving in Manly by public transport. Some 6 million commuters pass through this point for work of leisure. The options are to walk through the enclosed middle in the inside, which is crowded and full of cooking fumes. Alternative paths are walks to the right and left on the open air, along pubs and eateries on one side and a natural habitat on the other. The actual Cove and the infrastructure under the wharf are a dense biotope for local wildlife. Unique Manly Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) have their habitat in various locations. Walking along the wharf the lucky resident or visitor can catch a glimpse of what makes Manly unique.The plan to privatise some of the Wharf's walking paths on the West Esplanade side to monetize the "spectacular waterfront positions" for a few paying customers is myopic. Bursting suburbia is thirsty for public spaces, which are fast disappearing in Manly. Visitors come to be "seven miles from Sydney, and a thousand miles from care" and not to be 'in it' again. Encroaching with intensified commercial operations would not be beneficial for the wildlife.

The human footprint seeking constantly to enlarge in delicate environments, can trample an area. Already there are signs of visible pollution in the Cove water: dumped bikes, chucked shopping trolleys etc. With intensification the noise pollution would negatively impact on human and wildlife habitat.

Boat parking is proliferating and also a danger to swimmers and wildlife. Some just come to 'get tanked' in private racing boats, unload their dogs, have some alcohol, clutter up the cove and then race off again. A trend to be encouraged?Do not deprive the public of access to the Manly Wharf walkwaysDo not accelerate rapid development and hence human disturbance to penguins and other wildlife.Do not forget why people come here to live or visit

"Sprawling from land right out into the ocean as we clamber for more of its resources" Ocean Sprawl on Planet Green 0809

Update:- Manly penguin wardens "will protest against what they say is the possible encroachment on penguin habitats by Hugo’s restaurant." Penguins already have lost habitat to the School of Artillery at North Head and "People living near the beach want to build pools on top of penguin nests". There will be a protest on September 13 via Manly Daily 180809

10 August 2009

Whales are passing by. Today two Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) swam slowly along Manly Beach. It appeared like mother and calf logging, in close contact. After Shelly Beach they slowly drifted along the shore in the shallow water. Their habitat was free of polluting motors in the air and in the ocean, which is rare.A bit further north in a more protected terrestial area, there are rock engravings by the Eora of a Humpback mother and her calf. The 14 m long petrography depicts them overlapping in close body contact. An engraved person nearby is watching with views of the Pacific. Today the aquatic territory is littered in motorboats. Like measles they clutter up the shorelines. Noise and chemical pollution emanating from their presence interferes today with the large marine mammals pursuing their ancient migratory routes.The place is framed by the Eora shield, lovers and various symbols etched onto the sandstone.

With the unregulated access of mountain bikes these memes from 25000 years ago could disappear from the rocks and human memory. The whales too have to battle a degraded habitat with many human-made dangers.More onwhales and bikes in NPs.

04 August 2009

A monthly summary of what has washed onto the shore or beach through the winds, tides, waves or human action. Marine debris, flora and fauna, dead or alive:

Crested Terns are back. Unusual footprints of a large shorebird. Unfortunately beach-nestingor just visiting Manly Beach for Australian birds is not on. We only share the beach with dogs. Daily, there are dogs ON the beach illegally. Today a large pony-like thing and a shrunken dwarf.

There were unusual shells along the beach.

Old wood-based media blowing along the beach.
Rich in glass chips, probably the remains of causing 'facial injuries' in Manly's nightlife, just washed down to the beach to glass beach users as well.
Three helicopters swooping in on the beach/surfers, adding noise pollution.
At the Queenscliff end of the beach one wonders about getting into contact with the toxic Manly Lagoon mouth. Is it safe to swim there? Too poor to decontaminate?
The southern end still has eroded stairs and is fenced off.

050809Erosion: The large stairs at the southern end are still undermined and various debris is scattered at that end of the beach.Noise: Ear-bursting building sites all along the beach front.Glass, but a relative absence of the usual fast food packaging.Daily illegal dogs: one white fluffy thing at Queenscliff and a large one on Manly Beach. A lot of council staff with a focus on parking revenue. Pity, they do not take advantage of collecting from dog owners that do not abide by the law.

060809
A small pod of dark dolphins swimming orderly behind the surfline. A large juvenile Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) diving for fish.
The horizon clutteredwith boats and ships, but free of that brown haze from yesterday.
The beach is free of visible pollution, shells and sand.
Along the beach a cacophony of building sites and road building/cleaning machinery. Noise pollution.

120809
An epidemic of 'convenient' 'one-mouthful-wrappers' and take-away & chuck coffee plastic garbage. There are definitely waves of usage, bound to fashion,'must do', 'must have'. Before it was the plasticwater bottle one carries around jogging to look cool. Now it is the cup. Either way, the absence of mindful food and drink does not entice social responsibility. It is incorporated in the product/consumer mind: quick, convenient stuff for me, I, myself - the rest, the anti-product belongs to the public sphere. Chuck!

180809F o u r illegal dogs AND their owners ON Manly beachtoday. Two dogs at Queenscliff were allowed to freely urinate all over the sand. Think about it next time you roll on it, play with it or even eat it. Approaching the offending dog owners leads to verbal assaults and often physical threats. Emotional beasts defying the human law. Together with the feces draining from the walkway on to Manly Beach it poses a serious health hazard. There seems to be no enforcement of the law and an absence of a concerned community.

200809
Just like in August 2007, the 'green slime' (120809, above) of the day turns in to glowing waves of bioluminescence at night. (Video)

210809
Two school girls walking two rats on a leash ON the beach and around the pool. Doing their best to mingle with the wild rodent populations, facilitating a pathogen ecology for salmonella and typhus.
But why not, if cats are walked around Manly town to harrass the endemic bird population and dogs do IT ON the beach, then anything seems to go lacking effective regulation.

More plastic turning up as it gets warmer. All the plastic in the ocean and on the beach decompose, releasing hazardous chemicals(toxic bisphenol A (BPA) and PS oligomer ) to ALL life. Treating the beach or the Pacific as a cheap tip/externality will reveal itself as a toxic legacy for all to come.

With great confidence they are building more at the low-lying 'sanddune/path' at Queenscliff. It appears to be doubling built habitat for CO2 gear (garages). Rising sea levels denial? No retreat, no deserting coastal strips.

Retrograde amnesia forgot the eroded volleyball posts just a short time ago. A new turf is quickly staked out and 'pay & play' can continue. Privatisation of the beach? Only the ocean and the sky pose a limit.

On the Esplanade: Dog owners allow their beasts on extra long leashes to chase the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos which are picking up the pine seeds of the ground. The lawn is littered in dog turds. The leashes of careless dog-owners seem to get ever longer to the extend that even people get entangledin them now.

270809
Around the Queenscliff Rock Pool, many black flippers in the ocean close to the beach. Unfortunately they were not marine mammals, but many humans with lethal weapons. The scale of the operation was more akin to a professional Take and Go. The weapons seemed taller than the guys and a safety hazard for swimmers and walkers at Manly Beach. Armed 'sports' activities are not appropriate at a busy urban beach. It is just a matter of time before an 'accident' happens.

Where is the Manly Beach Watch, monitoring violations and pollution and collecting data on species?

Junkspace:An unusual amount of very sharp glass all along the beach. Post event by-product. Soon signs should be erected: 'Danger! Do not go barefoot on Manly Beach. You carry all risks, ok! ' The usual amount of take-away garbage, left there by beach users. It is actually relatively rare that garbage gets washed in. Busy boat-days can lead to float-in junk. Unusual weather conditions bring minced plastic from the BIG Pacific tip.

280809Three illegal dogs on Manly Beach today within a short time span. One dogowner allowed their two white inbredbull terriers to freely roam along the beach. This bully-behaviour had obvious effects on other beach users that felt uncomfortable. Potentially a dangerous situation

At North Steyne Beach, a dog owner sun-baking with a dog. As the beach seems to be a law-free arena, 'accidents' are about to happen. Will tourists really want to come to Manly to 'discover packs of dogs' and be harangued defenceless at the beach?

At this stage some risk factors at Manly Beach are dogs, glass, weapons (spearguns), fishing junk, kites and speeding vessels in the ocean.